1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ladders in general and more particular to portable ladders used by hunters.
2. General Background
It is often necessary for hunters to seek elevated locations for spotting potential game, or for simply improving their vantage point. Therefore, it is customary for the hunter to use tree stands to provide some degree of comfort during the long hours spent waiting for game to come along. Climbing trees can be very difficult and is made more difficult when trying to haul equipment such as a tree stand and weapons to any significant height.
To assist the hunter in climbing trees, a ladder has become necessary and is usually packed into the forest by the hunter along with the tree stand. Therefore, various types of ladders have been employed which will provide ease of climbing and are light enough to make them practical to carry. Most ladders employed for this purpose have "stand-off" arrangements which provide adequate space for the climber's foot between the tree and the rungs of the ladder. They also have a rope or cable to secure the ladder to the tree and are usually supported by the ground, hung from limbs, or simply propped against the tree. Examples of these arrangements can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,690 to Woller and U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,732, to Dunn. In addition, pole ladders have been devised which utilize a single pole. Such pole ladders are usually extendable and have steps on either side as more clearly depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,635 to Strickland and U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,200 to Andrews, et al.
Ladders of these types have proven to be bulky, heavy, and unsafe. Therefore, the search continues to a lightweight portable ladder which overcomes the problems associated with these types of ladders.